The Extra Mile: 5 Customer Appreciation Examples for Growth

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By Matt Ackerson — Get free updates on new posts here

Walt Disney said, “Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends.”

One thing Walt did well on his company’s journey to a $158 Billion empire was to provide an outstanding customer experience. He wanted Disneyland to be so good that people would:

Have no choice but to return to the magic kingdom.
Bring their family and friends.

Disney’s customer service goal should be your goal too, and customer appreciation is one of the easiest, most powerful, and more underrated ways to provide a great experience. Make your customers so happy that they tell their friends.

Why? Because when your customers tell their friends (or write a review for the whole internet to see) and thus your sales go up.

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And if your customers do not feel taken care of or appreciated? Well, many of your customers won’t return. Or they might just forget about you.

The top companies in the world know that customer appreciation works. And their branding also includes being consistent. If you want to clone some of their success into your business, then the examples you’re about to read about (or watch via today’s video) will inspire you.

Success (and results) in this domain is so much easier than you might think. Here’s the overview:

What Is Customer Appreciation and How Does It Impact Your Sales?
Customer Appreciation (Personally Experienced) Example 1: A Personal, Handwritten Thank-You Note (along with a bonus), From Grasshopper
Customer Appreciation Example 2: Warby Parker Lawyer Goes the Extra Mile
Customer Appreciation Example 3: Attentive Domino’s Employee Saves a Life
Customer Appreciation Example 4: Zappos — The Company Known For Exceptional Customer Service

Customer Appreciation Example 5: Nordstrom’s Famous Tire Story

Enjoy (and take notes on) these best customer appreciation examples. Then do the same for your customers. I look forward to writing an update to this article about your results one day soon…

In a rush? Grab a copy of this article to read anytime, anywhere. It’s also great for when you need a little happiness boost or inspiration to do a little better for your customers. Click here to download it now.

What Is Customer Appreciation and How Does It Impact Sales?

Before we jump into the stories, let’s examine what customer appreciation is and why you should strive for excellence here.

“The customer is always right.”

This timeless adage has stuck around for one: it translates to success for your company.

Customer appreciation is a measure of your company’s efforts towards its customers. It’s you being proactive in making an extra effort to ensure your customers feel appreciated and wanted.

Customer appreciation should be:

Genuine and heartfelt: Customers can tell if you just tell them what they want to hear (“Thank you for your order. We appreciate your business.”).

Unexpected: The best customer appreciation efforts are the ones they don’t see coming.

Personal: Personalizing your messaging is always a good idea.

Ongoing: Customer appreciation is not a one-time fix-it-all. Keep up the efforts, and your customers will keep coming back.

So that’s what customer appreciation is.

But how, exactly, does being nice to people who give you money make them give you more money? (Seems obvious when I put it like that, doesn’t it?)

Well, for starters, the Pareto principle states 80% of your outcomes (profits) are from 20% of your effort (present customers).

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This principle ties into another popular (and stat-backed) saying, “It’s 5 times easier and cheaper to keep a customer than to find a new one.”

Combine these two and it means a happy customer costs very little to keep. Plus, they will continue to give you their money. No marketing costs. No expensive ads to run.

New customers need all that stuff. They cost money to be pried away from competitors. And that digs into your bottom line.

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Making some small efforts with the customers you have means you get back way more than you give. It’s like buying your partner flowers one day for no reason. The rewards from that simple gesture come back to you in all kinds of ways…

And so when your business goes the extra mile, the stats say you get rewarded. According to a Bain & Company study, for every 5% increase in making customer retention efforts, you get an increase in profits of 25%-95%.

And there’s lots more data to back up how much customer appreciation impacts sales.

Treat People Well for More Clients: 70% of buying decisions hinge on how customers feel they’re treated. An emotionally charged interaction lets you create a stronger bond with your client.

Positive Experiences Bring in More Customers: 77% of customers will recommend a brand after one positive experience. 94% of Americans will recommend a business whose service they consider “very good.”

Why Businesses Lose Customers: 68% of customers left a business because they felt undervalued by the company. Only 9% of customers leave due to their own actions (they wanted to leave, for example). That means if you make an effort, they will probably stay your customer.

Happiness = Business Success: Happiness boosts sales by 37% and productivity by 31%. It also improves task accuracy, health, and quality of life. Spread happiness and life will be good.

Don’t Make “Avoidable” Mistakes: US businesses lose nearly $137 billion per year on avoidable consumer switching costs.

The Effort Makes a Difference: “The Thank You Experiment” involved a small business that called and thanked all their customers for the past 18 months. There were many voicemails and answering machines. But that one-day effort increased sales by 10% for the next year. And the customers didn’t say, “I’m ordering because you thanked me.” They just ordered.

The bottom line is this: the more engaged you are with your client, the easier it is to get a long-term commitment with them. When you know their patterns and habits, you can more easily give them reasons to feel appreciated and taken care of.

And don’t forget: you’ve already spent the money to get this customer. Now you just need to spend a little time and effort to keep reaping the benefits.

So there you have it.

Proof that customer appreciation works.

Customer Appreciation (Personally Experienced) Example 1: A Personal, Handwritten Thank-You Note (along with a bonus), From Grasshopper

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A few years back, I received a mysterious box in the mail from an unknown sender.

It was addressed directly to me. “Have I ordered anything recently?” I wondered to myself.

Nope… (My curiosity increased).

I walked inside and showed the box to my business partner.

“What was in this mystery box?” We were both wondering as I wrestled to open it.

I pulled out two small pieces of cushioning cardboard.

Cookies. Mother-delicious homemade sugar cookies from a company called Mabel. (If any of you readers have a link for this company, we can insert a photo into this article. Please put it in the comments below.)

Plus, there was a handwritten thank you note from Jonathan Kay, Grasshopper.com’s “Ambassador of Buzz.” We had recently mentioned Grasshopper in a recent article post on 17 examples of great sales funnels.

The note said:

“Hey Matt, Just wanted to say thank you for featuring Grasshopper and Chargify in your blog post. It means a lot to us, and we really appreciate it! Here is a tasty way for us to say thanks!”

— Jonathan

I licked my finger and then smudged a bit of the ink. Indeed, it was handwritten. Impressive.

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I shared the cookies with a fellow entrepreneur friend. They were absolutely delectable (and even more appreciated since I hadn’t eaten much all day).

Then I wondered, how did they know our address?

I quickly realized we were a customer of Grasshopper.com, so someone had to look it up in their database. Not much effort, but effort all the same.

This act of appreciation is effective for a few reasons:

I felt appreciated as a customer and a writer.

Based on the “give to get” principle, I wanted to help Jonathan and Grasshopper again. It could be either through recommendation—or even in writing this new article.

I posted this thank-you card so that anyone who came to the office could see it. Conversations were had about it. That’s free advertising for Grasshopper, which I was glad to give.

The cookies were outstanding. The only missing thing was a glass of milk (which I took care of).

We’ve had thousands of clients over our 13 years. Grasshopper and one other company are the only ones who have done something like this. And we’re still talking about it and writing about it. And we still have a subscription with them. That’s a testament to the incredible power of customer appreciation.

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And Grasshopper.com is not a “small” company that needs to hang on to their customers with both hands. At the time they sent the note, I think they did low eight figures in revenue. Last year, about $80 million in sales. (Perhaps their tremendous growth is from their excellent customer service…?)

Grasshopper’s a good-sized company. Yet they still took the time to send me some cookies. Incredible, right?

Going through the experience of getting a thank you note (and gift) is fantastic. I can understand now why entrepreneurs and marketers recommend this as a tactic.

Most companies don’t do this because handwritten notes don’t scale very well (or so a skeptic might say).

To that, I would say they actually do scale well. Besides the cost of a few cookies and a note, what’s the cost to Grasshopper for each new client they get from this?

Nothing. They made a friendly gesture, and now they get customers for free.

What Can Marketers Learn From This Example?

Sending a thoughtful gift with a handwritten thank you note goes a long way.
When it comes to gratitude, you get more than the effort you give.
Stories like this get backlinks, shoutouts, good press, friendships, deals, connections, and more.

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Customer Appreciation Example 2: Warby Parker Lawyer Goes the Extra Mile

Here’s a delightful little story about Warby Parker, the eyewear company.

Picture our poor friend, Michael Mathis. He lost his treasured Warby Parker spectacles on a Boston-bound Acela train. Disappointed, he orders a new pair. Nothing extraordinary so far…

But, lo and behold, a package soon arrives with TWO pairs of new glasses. And that's not all. There was also a meaningful book and a handwritten note from the GC (general counsel) of Warby Parker, Anjali Kumar. Check it out:

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Talk about seeing double…

Warby Parker got a lifelong customer out of this stunning customer appreciation spectacle. (Pun entirely intended). And since it was posted on social media, it also inspired thousands of others to buy their glasses.

(Note: similar to TOMS shoes—we recently wrote about their brand—Warby Parker also has a buy a pair, give a pair program. There’s another free publicity angle…)

What makes this example extraordinary is the extra step(s). The GC could’ve just sent a note and a pair of glasses and that itself would’ve been amazing.

What Can Marketers Learn From This Example?

Unexpected kindness can create unforgettable customer experiences.
Personalized touches can make a massive impact on your bottom line.
Customer care is about solving problems and going the extra mile.
Focus on customer retention the same or more than customer acquisition.

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Customer Appreciation Example 3: Attentive Domino’s Employee Saves a Life

Our next example is from Domino’s, the hot-and-fast pizza prodigies (also in our brand consistency article).

Enter Kirk Alexander, a devoted Domino’s patron from Salem, Oregon. He’d been ordering every other day since 2009—that’s commitment.

But suddenly, our man goes MIA for two weeks: no orders. Alarm bells ring for restaurant employee Tracey Hamblen, who’d gotten to know Mr. Alexander.

Tracey called the Sherriff’s Office to check on Kirk. They found the poor guy calling for help on the floor of his home and in need of medical attention.

Happy ending alert: He survives, and Domino’s (and their employee) gets to add “life-saver” to their resume. Here’s the story:

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I mean, saving someone’s life makes this example one of the best customer appreciation examples I’ve seen. Now, whether Domino’s pizza caused the health scare in the first place is up for debate…

What Can Marketers Learn From This Example?

Little details can add up to big things (like saving lives).
Knowing your customers’ habits can make a difference in business and beyond.
Care for your customers extends past their wallets right to their well-being.

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Customer Appreciation Example 4: Zappos — The Company Known For Exceptional Customer Service

If any of you know of Zappos, then you know they take customer service to the next level. That’s actually more what they are known for than their products.

And for those who don’t know, Zappos is an online shoe and clothing store founded in 1999 that was sold to Amazon in 2009 for $1.2 billion. I guess amazing customer appreciation does pay…

So I could tell you one story of Zappo’s going above and beyond for their customers… But in the spirit of giving more than required, I will give you three examples.

The 10-Hour Customer Service Call: In 2016, a Zappos employee set a record for the longest customer service call—10 hours and 43 minutes. The call wasn’t just about a complaint or issue, either. They talked about various things, including what it's like to live in the Las Vegas area (where Zappos’ headquarters are). For the cherry on top, the conversation eventually led to a sale of a pair of UGG boots.

The Case of the Late Father's Boots: A woman called Zappos to return some boots she had bought for her father, who had since passed away. The Zappos representative told her not to bother returning them and that they would refund her money. She was free to give the boots away instead of returning them. And the Zappos representative was so moved by the call that he sent her flowers.

The Best Man and the Lost Shoes: In another instance, a customer ordered a pair of Zappos shoes for a wedding but the shipping company sent them to the wrong address and was no help to fix the problem. The customer, who was the Best Man at the wedding, then called Zappos customer service. Check out what they did for him:

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Zappos gets a nod for the best customer appreciation I have ever seen because they do it on so many occasions. They just consistently go out of their way to help their customers. Incredible.

What Can Marketers Learn From This Example?

These examples capture Zappos' dedication to building customer relationships, not just making sales.
Go above and beyond. Your customers will think of you first whenever they buy something. You’ll get customers for life.
Follow Zappos' lead and be known for customer satisfaction. The world is prioritizing automated, bigger, faster, and cheaper. Stand out from the crowd with attention to detail and exceptional customer service.

Customer Appreciation Example 5: Nordstrom’s Famous Tire Story

The story goes that a customer walked into a Nordstrom store with a set of automobile tires and asked for a refund. Nothing strange about that, right?

Except that Nordstrom has never sold tires. It's a clothing and shoe retailer.

John Nordstrom himself has actually confirmed this story. He said that the incident took place in a newly opened Nordstrom’s in Alaska that had previously been a tire store. The customer was obviously a bit confused, so the Nordstrom salesman, Craig Trounce, gave him his money back.

Trounce said he thanked the customer for coming in and invited him to return to shop for, you know, stuff they actually sold there. Which, after customer service like that, I’m sure he did.

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That salesperson didn’t know it, but Trounce’s uncommon gesture would turn into billions of dollars in sales for the retail giant.

This story is one of the best examples of customer appreciation I have ever seen because it has become a legend. Companies often use it as an example of going above and beyond to ensure customer satisfaction. Even when it seems unreasonable. They teach this to their own employees. And so they should.

What Can Marketers Learn From This Example?

Do right by customers — even if it costs you some money. (How much did those tires cost? How many sales were made because of that story?)
You don’t have to strictly follow the rules and regulations. Make a judgement call sometimes and you’ll be rewarded.
The most convenient and logical way is not necessarily the best way—especially when dealing with people.
Becoming a legend in the customer service industry will pay dividends forever.

Conclusion

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Customer appreciation isn’t just about grand gestures or flashy promotions. It should be focused on the genuine, consistent acts that show your customers they’re more than just another transaction.

Let’s quickly recap what we’ve covered today.

Customer Retention Over Customer Acquisition: It’s at least five times easier to keep a customer than to get new ones. Focus on that.
Surpass Your Customer’s Expectations: You’ll have a customer for life if you provide world-class customer service. And your business will be easier to run and more profitable.
Promote Your Customers and Their Stories: First of all, you’re showing appreciation to your customers. Second, you’re getting new customers by showing how you care for your existing customers. Win-win.
Be Consistent: Trust takes time and consistency with your brand to build.

And these stories inspired the Growbo team and me to up our customer appreciation game, too.

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So let’s all pay attention to those minor details, make your customer interactions personal, and go that extra mile.

Do you have an incredible customer appreciation story that you did for your customers or that a company did for you? I’d love to hear about it (and so would thousands of other readers). Leave it in the comments below to share the good vibes.

Until next time…

Keep Growin’, stay focused.

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